This invention relates to electrical boxes for mounting electrical or optical devices to a wall, and in particular to a low profile electrical box suitable for use in narrow spaces between a masonry wall and a finished wall material.
Electrical boxes are used to mount electrical devices, such as outlets and switches, in walls of buildings, such as residential homes. Conductors are routed into the electrical boxes for connection to the electrical device mounted to the particular electrical box. The National Electrical Code (NEC) limits the volume of electrical boxes that can be filled with wires and devices mounted thereto. The NEC allocates a certain amount of cubic inches for each size wire and each device mounted in the box. In order to meet the code requirements, typical electrical boxes are nearly four inches deep which provides sufficient volume in the electrical box for the device and conductors.
A typical hollow non-masonry wall of a residential home includes a finished wall material affixed to spaced studs forming large cavities in the walls. These cavities between the studs are generally at least four inches deep which can easily accommodate the electrical boxes having a depth of nearly 4 inches. Masonry wall construction, however, introduces special challenges because of the typical lack of easy access to deep cavities in the wall for mounting the electrical boxes.
Masonry walls are typically finished by nailing furring strips to the wall, and then affixing a finish wall material, such as drywall or paneling, to the furring strips. The furring strips are typically less than four inches deep, and can have a depth of less than one inch to maximize the interior volume of the building. As a result, in order to use standard electrical boxes, holes must be broken out of the masonry wall to accommodate the depth of the standard electrical box. Breaking out the holes is labor intensive and expensive.
Shallow electrical boxes have been developed for use in spaces shallower than four inches. These shallow electrical boxes are wider than standard electrical boxes in order to provide sufficient volume for the conductors and the device mounted thereto. Unfortunately, these shallow electrical boxes require an unsightly large hole through the finished wall material to affix a non-standard cover over the electrical box or they do not provide sufficient volume to accommodate an electrical device and meet the code requirements. Therefore, a need exists for an improved low profile electrical box that can fit in a narrow space while providing sufficient volume to meet code requirements.